


to be alive beneath cherry blossoms

by aegious



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: ! Era, Character Study, Gen, Speculation, Valkyrie-centric, War Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:41:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28340334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aegious/pseuds/aegious
Summary: He doesn’t deserve to stand on this stage. He wasn’t part of Valkyrie’s rise to glory—he’s just riding on their coattails. He doesn’t have a name for himself yet, no fans to speak of, no accomplishments of his own.Still, Mika thinks, he’s never been happier.
Kudos: 6





	to be alive beneath cherry blossoms

**Author's Note:**

> after metaing about valkyrie for about 2 hours straight, i came to the conclusion that valkyrie performed at sakura fes in the previous year.
> 
> happy birthday mika! you are such a wonderful, rich character, and i seriously can't get enough of you. i wish for your happiness in the next year as well ^^
> 
> title is from kobayashi issa's haiku:  
> What a strange thing!  
> to be alive  
> beneath cherry blossoms

The soft pinks are different from what Valkyrie typically wears, but as usual Oshi-san’s designs are flawless, and the fabric almost seamlessly mixes with the cherry blossom trees surrounding them. The falling petals scatter across the stage and crush underfoot as they glide across it in perfectly practiced motions, and Mika thinks this is what it must mean to be an idol.

There’s a lightness in his heart, a bounce in his step, and even the watchful eyes of the crowd aren’t as scary as they usually are. Because Oshi-san’s here, and Nazuna-nii’s here, and together they’re unbeatable.

His arm moves with the pull of Oshi-san’s string; he twirls, bends, leaps, all according to his will. And that’s how it should be, because this is what art is. Captivating, perfect, insurmountable.

He doesn’t deserve to stand on this stage. He wasn’t part of Valkyrie’s rise to glory—he’s just riding on their coattails. He doesn’t have a name for himself yet, no fans to speak of, no accomplishments of his own. Still, Mika thinks, he’s never been happier.

This Sakura Festival is theirs, and the audience is here to watch Valkyrie. They don’t have to be here for _him,_ because even he knows he’s nothing to gawk at. But he can move to Oshi-san’s beat, execute each dance flawlessly, work himself to the bone all for the sake of Oshi-san’s art. And because he can do that, he can make this audience happy—he can make Oshi-san happy.

Oshi-san’s puppet strings extend even to the cherry blossom petals today. They weave in and out and around each of them, pulled along to the haunting melody of Valkyrie’s song. As Mika spins, he creates a flurry of pink at his feet, at his hips, drifting along the heavy fabric Oshi-san poured his whole being into.

Nazuna-nii is next to him mouthing the lyrics of the song. It’s almost a shame that Mika can’t listen to his pretty voice for real—but they’ve both resolved themselves. Oshi-san is the artist, and they the art. If Oshi-san says so, then it is.

So he spins again, dipping low and making sure each step is perfectly in time. The audience is silent; Oshi-san’s voice rings out. Nazuna-nii’s recorded soprano blends with his harmony, and together they create something beautiful, something stunning, something so provocative and powerful that it sinks the world to their knees.

This is Valkyrie, he thinks, and Mika has to clench his jaw tight to keep himself from smiling.

* * *

Mika balls his hand into a fist, his face turned down to the ground. He can’t possibly look up at the stage right now, not when everything is so _wrong._

Trickstar’s song rings out, and Mika can’t say it out loud, not yet, but they sound good. Impressive, even. But that kind of thing doesn’t matter when they’re standing on a stolen stage, when _he_ should be up there with Oshi-san and Nazuna-nii performing one of _Valkyrie’s_ songs.

This Sakura Festival doesn’t feel like a celebration, even though the audience around him is cheering wildly and lights are shining and music is blaring from the speakers. Cherry blossom petals float down from the trees, dyeing the world in a beautiful pink. It’s a spectacular sight, one that’s sure to remain a treasured memory for all who came today.

He catches sight of a tuft of blonde hair just below eye level, and that pit turns ice cold when he realizes it’s Nazuna-nii. He throws a baton into the air and just barely manages to catch it, stumbling forward with a wordless shout, but he laughs afterward, and one of the first years by him pats him on the shoulder and helps him stand back up.

There’s almost nothing left of the graceful, polished Nazuna-nii he’d known last year.

But the smile on his face is wide and toothy, bigger and more genuine than anything Mika had ever seen before. He’s having fun, Mika realizes, and his eyes prickle with an emotion he’s not ready to name.

He wonders if Nazuna-nii remembers last year’s Sakura Festival. He wonders if he cares that Trickstar had stolen this stage from them.

It doesn’t look like it, from the way Nazuna-nii dances freely, drumming up the excitement in the crowd with more vigor than he’d ever had dancing in Valkyrie, contorted by Oshi-san’s careful, loving fingers.

He wonders what Oshi-san would say if he could see this new Nazuna-nii.

But Oshi-san isn’t here. He hates crowds, so of course he wouldn’t be. Mika’s not too fond of them, either, but he’s more than willing to suck it up for Oshi-san’s sake. Now, as he stands among the rowdy crowd watching the performance, he regrets that decision, and a stone rolls around in his stomach until he’s sure he’ll be sick.

Mika sighs. He’d promised Oshi-san he’d check out this new competition, but the crowd is draining, and he’s too close to all these people—if they look at him and see his eyes, it’ll probably cause a commotion.

He turns away from the stage just as one of Trickstar’s songs ends and the audience bursts into wild applause, their unchecked movements jostling Mika around until he’s sure his head is going to pop off. When it dies down though, and he’s finally able to start moving back through the crowd, he catches sight of that pretty little girl he’s seen around school here and there. One of the transfer students, he thinks.

So that’s the producer—the one who helped Trickstar rise to this stage. The one who helped Trickstar take everything Valkyrie once possessed.

Oshi-san’s enemy.

The bitterness rolls around deep in his gut, and he has to clench his jaw tight to keep himself from yelling.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm on [twitter!](https://twitter.com/aegious) please talk to me about enstars lore lol


End file.
